Crimean Tatar leader Mustafa Dzhemilev and two Yazidi women are among the contenders for the human rights award, named after famed Soviet dissident Andrei Sakharov and handed out annually by the European Parliament.

OTHER NEWS

In the harshest remark to date by a Russian official about the air campaigns in Syria, Defense Ministry spokesman Major General Igor Konashenkov suggested that Russian antiaircraft systems may shoot down U.S. or U.S.- led coalition aircraft if they attack Syrian forces.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has fired twelve high ranking police generals, reappointing a majority of them to lead departments in the interior ministry, which is now subordinate to the newly established National Guard. (In Russian, Current Time TV)

Vladimir Markin, spokesman for Russia’s investigative Committee, has been dismissed from his post by Russian President Vladimir Putin, and will now serve as first deputy director general of RusHydro, state-owned hydroelectricity giant. (In Russian, Current Time TV)

Ten years later, Ilya Politkovsky, the son of murdered Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya, who has scoured all known evidence relating to his mother’s death, is still no closer to knowing who the mastermind was.

Belarus President Alyaksander Lukashenka told a meeting of deputies on October 7 that there are not enough opposition representatives in parliament, and that “ I would like to have more.” (In Belarusian)

With opinion polls suggesting no party will win a clear majority, the political giants behind Georgia's two leading political forces have taken center stage to talk up their respective parties' chances in this weekend's national elections.

In Turkmenistan, where the country’s economic tailspin has meant wage arrears and shortages of basic foodstuffs for many, there are reports that the state is taking “voluntary contributions” from employees.

Over 40k readers of RFE/RL’s Russian Service were interested in the U.S. reaction to Russia’s decision to suspend an agreement on plutonium storage/use. Harvard’s Nicholas Roth said Moscow’s decision undermines its ability to present itself as an advocate for nuclear arms control. The Hudson Institute’s Richard Weitz said the White House would perceive the move as pure propaganda. The McCain Institute’s David Kramer said it’s a sign that the Kremlin has lost respect for the United States.” (Over 40k views on Russian Service Website)

In her last interview, given to RFE/RL’s Russian Service just two days before she was murdered in her Moscow apartment building on October 7, 2006, journalist Anna Politkovskaya accused Chechnya’s Ramzan Kadyrov of numerous crimes and human rights abuses, and called him “the “Stalin of our days for the Chechen people.” The original, in Russian, is here.